UFC Fight Night 20 Recap - Does Maynard Get a Title Shot vs. BJ Penn?
by Nick Meyer
To tap, or not to tap? That is the proverbial question that Efrain Escudero faced on Monday night as opponent Evan Dunham cranked on his arm, threatening with all his might to break it.
Escudero waited as long as he possibly could, but the betting underdog Dunham had the arm-bar in so tight that there was no escaping with the limb intact.
Escudero, the betting favorite and former Ultimate Fighter winner, had no choice but to tap, but by then, it looked like some potentially serious damage had already been done. Escudero winced in pain on the mat as Dunham did a victory dance, cementing the most memorable (and cringe-worthy) highlight of Ultimate Fight Night 20.
From that point on, the action shifted to the main event of the evening as Gray Maynard attempted to avenge the only loss of his MMA career (albeit not an official one because of its Ultimate Fighter TV show status) against fellow lightweight Nate Diaz.
Maynard and Diaz slugged it out for three rounds with the fight only hitting the ground for a few sparse moments despite that area being both guys' strengths.
In the end, Maynard won a split decision, but he wasn't overly impressive in doing so. Now, the big question on every UFC fan's mind regarding the lightweight division is whether or not Maynard will be granted a title shot against BJ Penn at the recently announced UFC 112 event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Maynard didn't do well against Diaz compared with how he did against the likes of Jim Miller, fellow contender Frankie Edgar, and Roger Huerta, but Diaz's length seems to be a tough matchup for him along with his jiu-jitsu prowess.
Would Maynard give BJ Penn a fight? That's for the UFC to decide now as they look to fill what could be an exciting UFC 112 card in a unique venue in the Middle East.
Right now, Maynard has the edge over Edgar for the title shot, but some feel Edgar could be better-suited to give Penn some competition. The MMA betting community will find out soon which of these soon-to-be-huge underdogs will get the title shot against Penn.
Also taking home big wins at UFC Fight Night 20 were Amir Sadollah and Aaron Simpson.
Simpson, an intriguing middleweight prospect, got caught up in a war with the underdog Tom Lawlor that looked like a potential loss. But Simpson managed to gain control using his impressive takedowns and some well-placed shots before squeaking out a controversial split-decision that the crowd in Fairfax, Virginia couldn't help but boo.
Former TUF winner Sadollah was much more impressive on the night in the welterweight division, however, as he dominated Brad Blackburn for much of the fight, handing his opponent his first UFC loss.
Sadollah showed off his impressive head movement, quickness, and muay thai skills, blasting Blackburn with a big knee late in the fight and also with a big left hand earlier on. Each blow stunned Blackburn and scored big points on the judges' scorecards.
Sadollah, the slight betting favorite going in, stayed out of trouble for most of the fight and nearly finished Blackburn a couple of times.
Next up for UFC fans will be UFC 109: Relentless on February 6 in Las Vegas. The betting action should be fierce for the main event featuring Randy Couture and Mark Coleman on the BetUs.com Sportsbook, so check it out today and get ready another round of intense MMA action in the weeks to come.
Friday, January 15, 2010
NHL Predators Road trip against the Calgary Flames
Preds end road trip against sliding Flames
(Sports Network) - The Nashville Predators will attempt to wrap a three-game road trip perfect this evening as they take on the Calgary Flames, who will be trying to avoid a fifth loss in six games.
The Predators visit Pengrowth Saddledome off road wins over Vancouver and Edmonton. Nashville has won four straight and 10 its last 13 on the road (10-2-1), including Tuesday's 5-3 victory over the Oilers.
Ryan Jones notched a career-high three points off a goal and two assists, while Shea Weber and Marcel Goc scored 28 seconds apart early in the opening frame to set the tone. Weber, Goc, J.P. Dumont and Patric Hornqvist all ended with a goal and a helper each, while Pekka Rinne made 38 saves.
"We did a pretty good job of getting the lead early and Pekka kind of held us in it after that," Weber said.
Weber's two-point night gave him three goals and eight assists over his last eight games, while Hornqvist has five goals and three assists over his last six games. Hornqvist, who leads the team with 18 goals, also has 12 tallies and six helpers over his last 15 contests.
Nashville, which has won six of its last eight overall, was without captain Jason Arnott for a third game in a row because of an upper-body injury.
Still, the Predators improved to 17-7-2 on the road this year and are tied for fourth in the Western Conference with 59 points. Nashville is also nine points behind first-place Chicago in the Central Division.
The Flames have just one fewer point than the Predators, but enter tonight tied with the Avalanche for first place in the Northwest Division. Colorado has gained on Calgary because the Flames have lost four of their last five and are 0-1-1 on a three-game homestand that concludes tonight.
After a shootout loss to Colorado on Monday, Calgary was dealt a 3-1 setback by visiting Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Mark Giordano scored the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 24 shots for the Flames, who have lost three straight at home and are 12-9-3 as the host this year.
"We had 18 or 19 quality scoring chances tonight and we were only able to capitalize on one of them," said Calgary coach Brent Sutter. "One goal a night is tough to win games."
Calgary hopes that Jarome Iginla is able to shake off his recent slump, as the Flames captain has zero points in his last five games and just one goal over his last 10 contests. Iginla, though, has three goals and six points in three games versus the Predators this year, as well as 26 goals and 24 assists in 39 career contests against them.
Iginla had two goals and an assist in a 5-3 loss to the Predators at home on December 19, just Calgary's second loss in the last six meetings at Pengrowth Saddledome.
The Flames have sandwiched a pair of road victories over Nashville around that loss to give them six wins and their last seven meetings with the Predators overall.
Kiprusoff has been in net for all three games of this season's series, going 2-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average with a 22-save shutout on November 30.
Rinne was on the other end of that blanking in his lone start versus Calgary this year, making 25 saves, while Dan Ellis has started the other two games, going 1-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA.
(Sports Network) - The Nashville Predators will attempt to wrap a three-game road trip perfect this evening as they take on the Calgary Flames, who will be trying to avoid a fifth loss in six games.
The Predators visit Pengrowth Saddledome off road wins over Vancouver and Edmonton. Nashville has won four straight and 10 its last 13 on the road (10-2-1), including Tuesday's 5-3 victory over the Oilers.
Ryan Jones notched a career-high three points off a goal and two assists, while Shea Weber and Marcel Goc scored 28 seconds apart early in the opening frame to set the tone. Weber, Goc, J.P. Dumont and Patric Hornqvist all ended with a goal and a helper each, while Pekka Rinne made 38 saves.
"We did a pretty good job of getting the lead early and Pekka kind of held us in it after that," Weber said.
Weber's two-point night gave him three goals and eight assists over his last eight games, while Hornqvist has five goals and three assists over his last six games. Hornqvist, who leads the team with 18 goals, also has 12 tallies and six helpers over his last 15 contests.
Nashville, which has won six of its last eight overall, was without captain Jason Arnott for a third game in a row because of an upper-body injury.
Still, the Predators improved to 17-7-2 on the road this year and are tied for fourth in the Western Conference with 59 points. Nashville is also nine points behind first-place Chicago in the Central Division.
The Flames have just one fewer point than the Predators, but enter tonight tied with the Avalanche for first place in the Northwest Division. Colorado has gained on Calgary because the Flames have lost four of their last five and are 0-1-1 on a three-game homestand that concludes tonight.
After a shootout loss to Colorado on Monday, Calgary was dealt a 3-1 setback by visiting Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Mark Giordano scored the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 24 shots for the Flames, who have lost three straight at home and are 12-9-3 as the host this year.
"We had 18 or 19 quality scoring chances tonight and we were only able to capitalize on one of them," said Calgary coach Brent Sutter. "One goal a night is tough to win games."
Calgary hopes that Jarome Iginla is able to shake off his recent slump, as the Flames captain has zero points in his last five games and just one goal over his last 10 contests. Iginla, though, has three goals and six points in three games versus the Predators this year, as well as 26 goals and 24 assists in 39 career contests against them.
Iginla had two goals and an assist in a 5-3 loss to the Predators at home on December 19, just Calgary's second loss in the last six meetings at Pengrowth Saddledome.
The Flames have sandwiched a pair of road victories over Nashville around that loss to give them six wins and their last seven meetings with the Predators overall.
Kiprusoff has been in net for all three games of this season's series, going 2-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average with a 22-save shutout on November 30.
Rinne was on the other end of that blanking in his lone start versus Calgary this year, making 25 saves, while Dan Ellis has started the other two games, going 1-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA.
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